45 of 54 Customs officials relinquish posts

MANILA, Philippines - Forty-five Bureau of Customs (BOC) collectors complied with the order of Commissioner Rufino Biazon to submit their letters of relinquishment.

Nine others, including Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) district collector Carlos So, failed to meet the deadline.

At 5 p.m. yesterday, the Office of the Commissioner of the BOC reported that only 15 out of 17 district collectors and 30 out of 37 sub-port collectors complied with the memorandum issued by Biazon.

Last Friday, the commissioner instructed them to submit their letters of relinquishment so he can have a free hand in reshuffling or reassigning them to new positions.

Aside from So, the other district collector who did not submit his letter of relinquishment was Julius Premediles of Iloilo.

Reporters tried but failed to contact So for comment.

So, Ricardo Belmonte and Rogel Gatchalian have been branded as the “three kings” in the BOC because they reportedly occupy sensitive ports and have political backers.

But Belmonte and Gatchalian denied that they attained their posts because of connections.

Belmonte said he rose from the ranks and has been in the bureau for 34 years.

He said his brother, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., has never interfered with his work. The port collector is due to retire in February next year.

Those who complied and submitted letters of relinquishment were district collectors Fidel Villanueva IV of San Fernando; Gatchalian of the Port of Manila; Belmonte of the Manila International Container Port (MICP); Tomas Alcid of Batangas; Edward dela Cuesta of Cebu; Nelson Belen of Tacloban; Oswaldo Geli of Surigao; Ma. Lourdes Mangaoang of Cagayan de Oro; Darwisha Schuck of Zamboanga; Eduard James Dybuco of Davao; Adelina Molina of Subic; Ronnie Silvestre of Clark International Airport; Leilani Alameda of Aparri; Elvira Cruz of Limay; and Leovigildo Dayoja of Legaspi.

In an interview yesterday, Biazon said those who failed to comply with his directive would be placed on floating status.

When asked if those who did not submit letters of relinquishment would have a higher probability of being reshuffled, he replied, “As I said, if they would not comply within the timeline specified, it only means that they do not support my effort. So those who do not support my effort would be taken out of the way.”

“There is a vacancy at the Customs ‘Navy.’ If they do not relinquish their post, then I would exercise my authority to replace them,” he added.

He said he could place the two district collectors who did not follow his orders on floating status.

He could not terminate them from the bureau and could only relieve them from their current posts.

Biazon said the commissioner has the authority to relieve district collectors, but appointing a collector to a district would require the approval of the Department of Finance (DOF) secretary.

The movement of collectors is expected to begin this week.

The BOC chief said that the reshuffle of the district collectors would depend on their performance, their ability to meet the collection targets and their record of enforcements, if they have been subject of complaints and if they have a high “level of notoriety.”

‘Everything has an end’

During the flag-raising ceremony at the BOC yesterday, Biazon told bureau officials and employees that after 20 months in office, he is losing his patience and that “everything has an end.”

He has repeatedly reminded them since the time he assumed his post in September 2011 about his call for reforms.

The latest reminder came from President Aquino when he criticized the continued smuggling in the bureau during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last week.

“I am a very patient man but we draw the line somewhere. They have been given a warning of what’s to come,” Biazon said.

Courtesy resignation

Speaker Belmonte reiterated yesterday that he has never interfered with affairs in the BOC.

He said he asked his brother, who has been in the BOC for 34 years serving eight commissioners, to resign.

Ricardo, however, pointed out that he is set to retire soon.

“He told me he had six months to go before his 65th birthday,” the Speaker said. “After being in the BOC for 34 years, he’s entitled to retire and not be forced but definitely he will file letter of courtesy resignation.”

He recalled that his younger brother bore the brunt of the political retribution against him when he sided with then presidential candidate Benigno Aquino in 2010 when he was still mayor of Quezon City.

His brother, who was cited for his performance at the BOC, was reassigned to another post after his defection to Aquino, he said.

Belmonte also backed the call of Biazon for officials to submit their courtesy resignation.

“That’s (resignations) a good thing, provided Commissioner Biazon has a plan. Just asking for courtesy resignations isn’t enough. He must have a reform plan. I wish him all the best,” Belmonte said.

Meanwhile, BOC X-Ray Inspection Project (XIP) head Carmelita Talusan yesterday admitted that she is related to the Singsons, a known political clan in Ilocos Sur.

Talusan said former Ilocos Sur governor Luis “Chavit” Singson is her uncle.

She, however, denied that her relatives acted as her “padrinos” who helped her reach her current position.

She said that her uncle has never meddled in her work.

Talusan said she worked hard before she became head of a unit.

“Nobody can question my track record so maybe that is a reason why I was given a break,” she said.

She has been with the BOC for 20 years, starting as examiner at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). She went up the career ladder until she obtained her current position as head of XIP.

Talusan was recently named in a newspaper (not The STAR) as one of nine BOC officials who allegedly enjoy political backers.

Malacañang clueless

Malacañang declared innocence yesterday over persistent rumors that Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares will be taking over the BOC to replace Biazon.

A talk with the BIR chief, according to presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, indicated she has no idea about the speculations.

Both BIR and BOC are agencies under the DOF headed by Secretary Cesar Purisima.

“I spoke to Commissioner Henares. I asked her and she responded to me that nobody has ever told her anything, so she is not aware of any plans. If you’re asking if Kim is being eyed, Kim herself says she doesn’t know,” he told a news briefing.

Lacierda then urged the public to wait for the official announcement.

Lifestyle check

Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano called for the conduct of a lifestyle check on officials of the BOC by an independent body such as the Office of the Ombudsman as part of the reforms that would be undertaken in the agency.

Cayetano said that the reshuffling of personnel within the BOC is not good enough to be considered as a reform measure, especially in the eyes of the public.

He said that a reshuffle of Customs officials may be considered as a good first step but must eventually lead to a clear resolution of the issues hounding the agency.

“People want tangible results. I sympathize with Commissioner Biazon, with deputy commissioner (Danilo) Lim. I’m not saying that what they are doing is wrong, I’m not saying it’s easy. The reshuffle is a first step but to what end? The people want to see the next step,” Cayetano said.

“I don’t see it as a reform. It might show that certain changes are taking place and it might show that nobody is too big to be replaced, but it doesn’t show that anyone of these are guilty or innocent of doing anything wrong,” he added.

Cayetano said that moving people around is nothing more than a simple reorganization.

According to Cayetano, the conduct of a lifestyle check on BOC officials must be done in order to weed out the bad eggs in the agency.

He recalled that the Arroyo administration thought about implementing a lifestyle check on the officials of the BOC and the BIR but this was met with a threat of mass resignation and consequently, the plan did not push through.

“What could probably be the next move is the conduct of a lifestyle check on the officials by an independent body, be it the Ombudsman or someone else,” Cayetano said.

He said that the requirement of submitting statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) is not enough for such cases and that a lifestyle check could prove to be more effective in identifying the corrupt officials.

Cayetano also challenged Lim to identify the legislators and other powerful people who allegedly have strong influence within the BOC.

Lateral Attrition Law

Meanwhile, the independent opposition bloc in the House of Representatives prodded the DOF to strictly implement Republic Act 9335 or the Lateral Attrition Law with the continued failure of the BOC to meet revenue targets.

Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, head of the bloc, cited the failure of the government to enforce the Lateral Attrition Act, which provides a system of rewards and punishments for officials and employees of the BOC and BIR who meet or fail to achieve their collection targets.

“It’s unfortunate that this good law has not been implemented. I hope the concerned department will enforce this to boost the performance of the Bureaus of Customs and Revenue,” Romualdez told reporters.

“If they fall short of target revenue, the Attrition Law is there to impose sanctions and also provides incentives to the performers. That would have been a fair and transparent approach to ensure check and balance,” he said.  – With Paolo Romero, Delon Porcalla, Marvin Sy